WASHINGTON COUNTY, Ky. — Addiction is a growing problem in Kentucky.
That’s why the Addiction Recovery Care group is expanding, hoping to help more Kentuckians recover.
The group, along with The Walker Company, is turning the abandoned St. Catharine College campus into a recovery center.
The college located near Springfield, Kentucky closed in 2016.
“This project will give people an opportunity to not have to live a life in isolation, a life of suffering,” ARC Senior Vice President of Administration Matt Brown said.
Between 2018 and 2019, overdose deaths rose by five percent in Kentucky.
The ARC wants to change those numbers by changing this campus into a "Crisis to Career" rehabilitation and job training center.
“A project of this size, located in such a wonderful location is going to be key in helping us move out of this,” Brown said.
The ARC already has 30 programs in 17 counties in Kentucky.
This will be the ARC’s westernmost center - a welcome addition since many patients are from the Louisville and Lexington areas.
It’s also going to help the local Washington County economy.
“You look at the job impact, if they reach their full potential like they say with 200 or 300 jobs, that would make them one of our largest employers,” Daniel Carney, the Springfield-Washington County Economic Development Executive Director, said.
Those are jobs that were lost when St. Catharine closed. At its peak, St. Catharine provided 125 jobs, and was one of the top five employers in the area. Having more people with jobs in the county has a trickle-down effect on local businesses.
Carney with is also hopeful that the patients at the center will use the skills they gain in recovery to then take jobs locally.
“It’s a win-win for those patients, for Addiction Recovery Care, and for this area,” Carney said.
The ARC hopes to have clients and staff on the campus by the end of 2020.
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